Four people, including a 16-year-old girl, were arrested on Friday by anti-terrorist police in Montpellier in southern France on suspicion of preparing an attack, police said.

France remains on high alert after a wave of attacks which began two years ago that has claimed more than 200 lives. Recently, a machete-wielding attacker lunged at four soldiers near one of the Louvre Museum's entrances.(AFP File)

Four people including a 16-year-old girl were arrested on Friday by anti-terrorist police in Montpellier in southern France on suspicion of preparing an attack, a police source said.

“An attack has been foiled,” said the source, adding that the four were arrested after they bought acetone, a highly flammable liquid that can be used to make bombs.

The other suspects were aged 20, 26 and 33, the source said.

“It seems that they intended to go through with it and to make several explosive devices,” the source said.

France remains on high alert after a wave of attacks which began two years ago that has claimed more than 200 lives.

Last week, a soldier shot and wounded a machete-wielding attacker who lunged at him outside the Louvre museum in Paris while shouting “Allahu Akbar”.

Investigators identified the man as an Egyptian and are trying to establish whether he had any link to a jihadist group.